


Bad Luck

by glowingGalaxies



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, idk - Freeform, this is my first eddsworld fanfiction so it might not be that great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-08-22 00:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8265464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowingGalaxies/pseuds/glowingGalaxies
Summary: Tord has horrible luck, overall. At least he was lucky enough to make some really great friends. And then accidentally get one of them kidnapped. (this takes place about a week after the end, it's a Tord redemption fic of sorts)





	1. Chapter 1

Matt did a double take, but by time he looked back, the stranger was gone. That... couldn't have been _Tord_ , right? It probably wasn't Tord. Why would Tord be here, of all places? 

It had been a week since Tord blew up their house and Tom blew up Tord. Tom had filled them in about the wanted poster he found, which called Tord "Red Leader" and mentioned a huge bounty on his head, after they finished moving in. Tord wouldn't come back if he was wanted, right? 

But he had the first time.

Of course, he didn't have anything else to come back for, right?

Matt wasn't sure what to think, really. He was probably still shaken by everything that had happened, and was thinking he was seeing Tord everywhere. That's a thing that happens to people, right?

But... Matt was pretty sure he recognized that black trenchcoat the stranger had been wearing. He couldn't remember where he recognized it from, exactly, but something about it just screamed "TORD" at him. And that stranger seemed to have been trying so hard to cover their face. That could've been anyone, though, right? Tord was gone, and had no reason to come back that Matt could think of.

Still, Matt couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, that really was Tord. Should he say something to Edd and Tom? There's no way it really was Tord. Tord's probably in Norway right now working on some new robot or something, whatever people who want to take over the world do in their free time. Right?

\----------------------------

_Tord was not, in fact, in Norway._

Tord nearly had a heart attack when he saw Matt in town earlier. Didn't Matt and the others live multiple towns away? He'd have to fire whoever had assured him he wouldn't run into them.

It was risky enough being anywhere in England at all, and if Tord didn't absolutely have to be the one to go he would've sent literally anyone else.

The bounty on his head wasn't the issue, no, he was more than used to that. He's been to jail, he's broken out of jail, it was nothing he couldn't handle. It was the fear of running into one of his old friends that had been keeping him out of England. He couldn't face them after that. He felt terrible, as much as he felt like he shouldn't, even about trying to kill Tom. Especially about actually killing their neighbor.

But that had to have been Matt. Who else would wear a jacket _over_ that purple hoodie? Tord just had to hope he had luck on his side today and Matt hadn't actually noticed him. Knowing his luck, though, Matt had definitely seen Tord and recognized who he was. He probably called the authorities as soon as Tord left. Oh, _fæn_ , he probably told Tom and Edd. What was he going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

Matt had eventually mentioned it to Edd, though not entirely on purpose. While they were watching a movie at Edd's apartment, Edd had asked how Matt's day had been, and during the very detailed (because who wouldn't want to know more about _Matt_ ?) recap, Matt mentioned seeing someone he thought might've been Tord. Edd didn't really seem to think too much of it, though, which was all the reassurance Matt needed to completely put the ordeal out of his mind for the time being.

\------------------------

Tord, on the other hand, felt like he was slowly losing his mind. Between the even _more_ constant glances over his shoulder to check for the police he was _sure_ would be coming for him, and worrying he'd run into another one of his ex-friends, and stressing over the negotiations that were the reason he had no choice but to come to England in the first place.

And losing his mind was exactly what he _didn't_ need when trying to deal with some people who were very angry that Red Leader had never reached the meeting place they agreed on. If only running an entire army weren't so expensive. Designing and selling weapons just made risky situations into dangerous ones, and when some potential new customers wanted to actually _meet_ the guy making the weapons, well, it certainly didn't make anything easy for him.

And now, they're offended Red Leader didn't show up. How are they supposed to trust a guy that won't even show up to the scheduled meetup?

It's not like he could just tell them, "oh, yeah, I saw my old ex-friend, and didn't want him to recognize me, so I had to leave". As much as he wanted to, to get them to stop asking about it, that would probably make an even _worse_ impression on them.

So, instead, he had to apologize (Red Leader, apologizing? They should consider themselves lucky he's even selling them anything at all.), and try to get back on their good side so they'd still consider buying something.

As soon as he got back to Norway, Tord decided, he'd be done with these in-person meetups, who cares what the customers want.

But right then, he had to come to some agreement that would calm then down; he couldn't lose their business after he's already made the weapons. Working with criminals is such a pain, no one trusts anyone. Not that he'd trust them, either.


	3. Chapter 3

Eventually, they did agree to meet up with Tord again, in a different spot to avoid running into the same "problem" that Red Leader had last time. So Tord was back out in public again. And he kept finding wanted posters for himself. Luckily, he was almost to the new meeting place, and hadn't been recognized yet.

Of course, Tord had probably spoken too soon, and apparently the universe wasn't done with him yet.

He, quite literally, ran into Edd, of all people. At least it was better than Tom, right?

"....Tord?"

Or, y'know, not.

"Tord?? What are you doing here??"

Tord looked at Edd, trying to figure out his options. Which was more important- avoiding Edd and the inevitable alerting of the authorities, or selling these weapons to those guys?

The answer was pretty obvious, at least to Tord. Who cares about one customer? He can't sell anything to _anyone_ , let alone run his army, while he's in jail.

So he ran. Away from Edd, away from the people he was meeting, away from everything. He didn't stop running, really, until he reached the car, where Paul was waiting for him. When Tord hurriedly got in and motioned for Paul to leave quickly, Paul didn't ask. He'd been in the Red Army long enough to know not to ask and to expect the worst.

They drove for a while before reaching their temporary base.

\-----------------

Edd was panicking just as much as Tord did, really. He just was better at not outwardly showing it.

Tord? Back in England? What did he want this time?

After finishing his shopping (he had to go out of his way on the trip, they were out of the special new cola flavor Edd wanted to try at the normal grocery store), he went back to his apartment to try to figure out what to do. He should tell Matt and Tom first, of course, but then what? Tord had seemed just as surprised to see Edd as he was seeing him. Still, should he report him to the police?

No. He may have been a jerk, but Edd wasn't going to completely give up on him. Definitely not trust him again, not so easily, but reporting him was going a bit too far.

Maybe Matt or Tom might have an idea of what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't common knowledge that Red Leader had come to England last week to pick up a robot. Sure, people heard an explosion, and two houses blew up, and someone died, but there were only _rumors_ that it was Red Leader. He rarely came to England, as far as the reports go. And investigations didn't find anything that was conclusively Red Leader's, and apparently none of the witnesses had gone into detail about the cause of the explosion.

So, really, that meant it was entirely Tord's fault that Edd had been kidnapped. The criminals he was trying to work with wouldn't have suspected Edd of being of any use to them if Tord hadn't been so panicky after running into him, which they had apparently seen.

Embarrassment aside, this was really bad. Really really bad.

Tord had gotten a message that morning from them about how they were done trying to work with him, he clearly didn't care enough about the deal. It wasn't the best news to wake up to, but he didn't care too much. It meant he could go back to Norway sooner.

About an hour later, another message had arrived: they had sent him a message saying that they had a "new source of information", and were basically trying to blackmail Tord into giving them their weapons before they got any information on him out of Edd. Tord wasn't sure if they thought Edd or the information he had was what was important to him, but it didn't matter. He couldn't let them torture Edd because of _his_ mistakes.

Which meant he needed a plan, fast.

\----------------------

Matt's day was going fine, at the start. He looked great (although when did he _not_ ?), he had gotten some new additions to his novelty toy collection, it was a good day.

"Was" being the key word there. Matt was then kidnapped. He was currently sitting in a car with his hands tied behind him. There was a man sitting in the driver's seat, waiting for someone else, from what Matt could see.

Suddenly, the door on the other side of the car opened, and Tom was tossed in. His hands _and_ feet were tied.

"What's going on?!" Tom demanded. Neither the man behind the wheel nor the man who had just thrown Tom in said anything for a moment, and there was silence until the other man got into the car and the car started moving.

Finally, the man who wasn't driving turned to Matt and Tom and spoke.

"Sorry about that. We didn't have time to explain. I'm Paul, and-" he motioned to the driver- "this is Patryk. We work for Red Leader- er, Tord. He sent us to come get you. Sorry about tying you up."


	5. Chapter 5

"What?! You work for _Tord_? Let me out of here, I don't want anything to do with that asshole!" Tom struggled in his seat, evidently trying to get his hands untied, with little success.

Matt looked at Tom, then back at Paul. "What does Tord even want with us?"

"He's probably still mad about that robot! Where's Edd?? What did you do with him?!"

Paul sighed. "Edd was kidnapped by someone else, that's why we're kidnapping you. Red- _Tord_ is trying to keep you safe."

"Oh, yeah, I feel _really_ safe right now." Tom was still trying to get himself untied.

"I'd untie you, Tom, but you'll just do something stupid, right? We can't let you leave, I'm sorry." As if to demonstrate his good intentions, Paul leaned into the back seat and, somewhat awkwardly, managed to untie Matt's hands. Matt immediately took a mirror out of the pocket on his hoodie and began fixing his hair. Tom sighed. " _Fine._ What is Tord planning to do with us, then?"

Paul looked at Patryk, who gave him a quick shrug before focusing on the road again. Paul turned back to Tom and Matt. "He hasn't told us much of the plan. We're just taking you to the temporary base we set up here in England. He made it explicitly clear, though, that we're not supposed to let you guys get hurt or leave." 

Eventually, they reached the base. Paul untied Tom, and the four of them walked in, almost immediately seeing Tord.

"Look, I _know_ this isn't the ideal situation for anyone, but Edd's in serious trouble, and the more time we waste, the more bad things that could happen to him." Tom promptly punched him in the face, on impulse.

Patryk and Paul moved to try to hold Tom back, but Tord motioned for them to leave. "Okay, I probably deserved that, this is my fault anyway. _But we don't have time!_ " 

Tom frowned and crossed his arms. Matt looked worried. "What happened to Edd? Why you need us?" Tord sighed. "He's been kidnapped by some, er, _guys_ I offended. They're trying to get information on me out of him, and they're not going to care if they kill him or not. The main reason I wanted you here was so they don't come after you two next, but you might be able to help, too."

Tom looked skeptical. "Why should we believe you? How are we supposed to believe that these guys just _knew_ Edd knew you?"

"Well, Edd said he ran into Tord yesterday when he was cola shopping, but he ran away before he could say anything..." Matt said.

"I think that's why they thought he might be useful to them, I panicked when Edd recognized me." Tord looked slightly embarrassed. "I have a plan to get him back. But you guys are going to need to dress like Red Army soldiers for it to work."


	6. Chapter 6

"Why, exactly, was _this_ important to your plan?" Tom said, adjusting the jacket Tord had given him one last time before pulling a flask out of its pocket and taking a drink from it.

Tord rolled his eyes. "If you stand out, it'll be obvious that you don't work for me. They'll probably think you either care about Edd's safety or have some association with me, and that means you'll be their targets." 

As much as Tom hated to admit it, he had a good point. The three started walking to the car, where Paul and Patryk were waiting.

"What's your plan, anyway?" Matt asked, admiring himself in his mirror. He could make anything, even the Red Army uniform, look good.

"I don't have much of a plan, actually," Tord said, shrugging. "We've got weapons, we can just fight our way to where they're keeping Edd."

" _Really?_ We're just going in, with guns literally blazing?" Tom asked, clearly not impressed. "What if it's a trap or something?"

"They're not that smart. Besides, do you have a better idea? We don't really know the layout of their hideout, or where Edd is, or how many people they have. We don't have a lot to go off of, we might as well just go with something that always works, right?"

" _Always works_ isn't how I would describe going in with no plan. That doesn't even work in any of the _Attack of the Insane Zombie Pirates from Hell_ movies!"

"Again, Tom, do you have a better plan? Because, for once, I'd love to hear it."

"No, but-"

"Exactly. Maybe once we get there, we'll come up with something better, but for the time being, we don't really have a lot of options."

The drive was mostly silent. Since Paul and Patryk were already sitting in the front seats, Tord got in the back with Matt and Tom, which led to the three being awkwardly squished for the duration of the ride.

Tord was trying to hope for the best, but based on the luck he'd been having, he wasn't too confident. 

In all honesty, he was worried about Edd. It was nearly sunset, and considering the message he got was sent around 11, Edd had been stuck there almost all day with none of the information they wanted and no way to prove it. Chances are, he wasn't in very good condition, _if_ he was still alive.

Eventually, the car reached the outside of the building Edd was (hopefully) being kept in.


	7. Chapter 7

The hideout was... not what Tord was expecting, really. It just looked like one of those short office buildings, maybe two floors above the ground at most.

He assumed that there was at least one floor underground, too, and that Edd was on one of the lower floors.

Matt spoke first. "So are, uh, they," he gestured to Paul and Patryk, "coming too?" Paul nodded. "We cannot let Red Leader go on such a dangerous mission alone. If something happens to him, the Army is left without a leader, and that is, well, not good," Patryk added. Matt nodded. He didn't seem to actually understand.

"So, Tom, do you have any assuredly _brilliant_ plans you'd like to share with us, now that we're here? You seemed so desperate to have one when we were back at the base." Tord patted Tom's hair condescendingly. Tom swatted his hand away. "Well, where do you think they'd be keeping Edd? We should plan based on that."

Tord pretended to think for a moment. "The basement, of course. It's the most soundproof, no windows, fewer exits. Really, Tom, haven't you ever kidnapped anyone? This is basic stuff!" Tom gave him a deadpan look. Matt even turned to look at him, slightly concerned. Paul and Patryk shrugged at him. "Uh, that came out a bit wrong, hah. The, uh, basically, the lower the floor, the more likely we are to find Edd, but the harder it'll be to get back out."

Tom considered this for a moment, ignoring what Tord had said about kidnapping people, before speaking. "Well, it can't go _that_ far down, right? We'll just have someone guard each staircase between floors so we can get out faster. Right?"

Tord shrugged. "Why not." He tried not to make it obvious that he actually hadn't thought to do that.

With the skeleton of a plan made, it was finally time for the rescue.


	8. Chapter 8

The rescue mission itself had gone as well as it could've, overall.

Paul and Patryk guarded the front door and the staircase, and managed to keep anyone extra from entering the basement.

Tom, Matt, and Tord had gone into the basement, and as Tord had guessed, there was another floor after that, both of which were heavily guarded. Tom and Tord had no trouble with the guns they had brought, but Matt, who wasn't very used to using one, ended up not being of much help. Still, they made it through without too many injuries.

After taking care of the guards, they reached Edd. He was barely conscious, and in bad shape. Since he wasn't much help with the guards, Matt ended up being the one to carry Edd out with them. While Matt and Tom got Edd into the car, Tord had Paul and Patryk help him set up explosives around the building. He wasn't going to let them think for a second they could cross Red Leader and get away with it.

Getting everyone into the car was the challenging part. Eventually, they decided to just set up Edd so he was sitting on Matt's lap. It wasn't going to be a long ride, at least.

Once they were far enough away, Tord set off the explosives. He barely heard them go off, and didn't think anyone else in the car would, but Tom gave him a look that suggested otherwise. Tord shrugged guiltily, and Tom sighed. He didn't seem angry, though. Maybe there was hope for saving their "friendship" yet? Probably not.

"How far away is the hospital, anyway?" Matt asked, trying to keep Edd from falling over.

"Hospital? We're going back to the base, not the hospital," Tord said, leaning forward to look at Matt.

" _What??_ But what about Edd?"

"Matt, do you _really_ think it's a good idea to go into public looking like this?" Tord gestured to the now-bloody uniforms they were all wearing. It took a moment for a look of recognition to appear on Matt's face. "Oh! Right."

When they reached the base, Matt and Tom changed back into their usual clothes, and Tord changed into his hoodie. Paul and Patryk stayed behind, and the other four got back into the car. Tord was driving, Tom was in the other front seat, and Matt was with Edd in the back.

The drive was short, and Tord dropped them off at the front of the hospital.

"Aren't you coming in too?" Matt asked. Tord pointed to his face. "Someone would recognize me, it's better if I don't."

And with that, Tord was gone, leaving Tom and Matt to check Edd in to the emergency room.


	9. Chapter 9

Tord was sitting at his desk, back at the temporary base. It was only a few days since the rescue mission, and he was planning to leave England in about an hour. As he finished putting away the last of the blueprints and papers he had brought with him, he heard the door open and looked up to find Tom, Edd, and Matt.

"Wha- How'd you guys get here??" Tord stood up, clearly surprised. Paul ran into the room, followed by Patryk. "Sir! We _tried_ to get them to wait in the main room for you, but they-"

Tord sighed. "It's fine, you two can go." Paul and Patryk exchanged a glance before saluting Tord and leaving the room. Edd watched them leave. Tord noticed the many bandages Edd was wearing, and the cast on his arm. He was surprised they'd even let Edd out of the hospital so soon.

Edd turned back towards Tord. "Tord! I can't believe you're really back!" He limped to Tord and attempted to awkwardly hug him despite the cast.

"You're _really_ happy to see me after everything I did to you? After you got kidnapped because of me?"

"Well, yeah! You helped rescue me, didn't you? I knew you didn't really mean what you said about 'not needing friends'!"

Tord frowned. "Well... I did, at least when I said it. I'm really sorry I got you caught up in this, I shouldn't have left Norway. I'm flying back in an hour."

It was Edd's turn to frown. Matt seemed disappointed too, and even Tom's demeanor changed a little. "You're leaving already? I barely even got a chance to talk to you!"

"You shouldn't have gotten _any_ , I don't deserve your forgiveness," Tord said, then leaned so he could see past Edd to Tom and Matt. "How'd you guys get here, anyway?"

Tom gave him a sort of half-hearted chuckle. "We weren't blindfolded, idiot. If you wanted to keep your base a secret, you really should've put in a bit more effort." Tord glared at him, then leaned back to Edd. 

"I don't know why you'd miss me. First I blow up your house, then I get you kidnapped, I _can't_ be worth sticking around."

Edd gasped, as if offended by what Tord said. "Tord! Don't say that! We're your _friends_ , of course you're worth sticking around! That's what we do!" Tord crossed his arms, a skeptical look appearing on his face. "Okay, Tord, what if you leave tomorrow instead, and come over to my apartment to hang out today?" As Tord opened his mouth to decline, Edd spoke again. "C'mon, Tord, you're not gonna deny me this one thing after getting me _kidnapped_ , are you?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to finish this, haha  
> between school, and procrastinating, and life in general, I've been getting nothing done, and tbh I actually accidentally forgot about this for like a month  
> but it's here now, and hopefully that's good enough? c:>

This was a terrible idea. There's no way someone wouldn't recognize him. In fact, the last two times he was out in public are the reason he got into this mess _in the first place._

Of course, here he was, walking down the street in his old red hoodie. No one ever recognized him from the wanted signs anyway, right?  
(He had chosen to ignore that this was _before_ he had gotten his incredibly recognizable scar on half his face)

As he entered the apartment building and rode the elevator up to the floor Edd's apartment was on, he briefly considered turning around and heading back to Norway today instead. It'd be better for them to hate him, probably.

Still, against his better judgement, he knocked on the door to Edd's apartment, and was almost immediately greeted by Matt. He stepped inside, and scanned the room for Edd, instead finding Tom sitting on the couch, sipping his (presumably alcoholic) drink. Tom's attention seemed to be split between whatever was on TV and Tord. Had things been the way they were... before, Tord might've gone into the kitchen or one of the other rooms to look for Edd, but with things the way they were, he opted to just linger by the door until Edd came to him. Matt, however, seemed to have a different plan, and after sitting down on the couch next to Tom, motioned for Tord to come sit next to him. Tord considered for a moment, then awkwardly joined them on the couch. "Attack of the Insane Zombie Pirates From Hell 5" was playing, which Tord couldn't help but wonder if they had picked with him in mind.

After what felt like an eternity (although, looking at the clock, it was a few minutes at most) of silently sitting and watching, Edd finally came out of the kitchen with some popcorn.

"Tord! You came!"

Edd set the popcorn bowls down on the table, sat down next to Tord on the couch, and hugged him.

"I was worried you weren't going to!"

Tord sighed. "Well, I _wasn't_ , but here I am, so..."

Edd smiled. "Well, we're all glad you did. Maybe we can watch one last movie before you leave for another eight years?" Tord shifted uncomfortably. "Hah, yeah, eight years....."

They sat there for a few minutes, the movie still playing in the background, and Tom nonchalantly eating popcorn.

Tord eventually spoke. "I'm... sorry about what happened last time I was here. I got a bit carried away with the robot, and I accidentally blew up your neighbor-"

"Oh, we hated those guys. Even though killing one of them _might_ have been a little over the top."

"Well, I blew up your house, too, and, though I know we've been over this, it's probably not safe to keep me around, I'm a _wanted criminal_."

Edd thought for a moment. "Weren't you a wanted criminal _before_ you left? ... aren't we all?"

Evidently this topic was much more interesting than Tord, as Tom finally spoke: "I'm _pretty sure_ I should be in jail after that one Christmas a couple years ago. I think stealing Zanta's sleigh was enough on its own, ignoring everything I did _after_ that, right?" Edd and Matt laughed.

"I've lost _count_ of how many charges of breaking and entering we have."

"Those fish people had us executed, I think Matt, Tom, and I are legally dead."

"We kinda stole an entire amusement park after the last zombie apocalypse, right? What ever happened to its original owners?"

"Didn't our clones burn that arcade down? The blame for that would've gone to us."

Even Tord was laughing at that point.

Maybe he _should_ visit them again sometime.

He definitely wasn't going to wait another eight years.


End file.
